Brucey wrote:By all means try it but I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that the shift from inner to middle doesn't improve if you change from a middle ring of 38 to 36. What will improve is the chances of the chain not overshifting off the big ring (because the FD is set slightly higher than is ideal). If that doesn't trouble you at present then the change you intend is unlikely to have any positive benefit, IMHO.
cheers
Thanks for the reply brucey.
But might it not help some of the rattling?
I have the impression that the high-set mech means that when it is set to ride in the top ring the chain sometimes clashes with a bit of the cage bulging out that it would otherwise miss if the chain was higher in relation to the mech?
It's a 771 XT mech - very nice in my experience if I don't abuse its specs too much.
Have bought several as new ones for between £10 and £15.